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Yesterhaven
Yesterhaven was a hamlet on the far western fringes of the Empire of Stars, tucked between Mount Wintershroud to the north, and Mount Underforge to the south. To the east lay the Valley of the Dead, where a series of tombs housed the magically-protected bodies of an Imperial Archmage and his retinue. The Utraean Peninsula lay across a bay to the southwest, and the Kingdom of Ehb over the mountains to the southeast. History Yesterhaven was founded by people from the Empire of Stars, more specifically, the descendants of an archmage and his servants, who were buried in a valley near the town. A pair of beings, known as the Snow Queen and the Fire King, acted as guardians of Yesterhaven, and gave the region milder seasons using powerful magic. In the days following the Empire's collapse, Yesterhaven fell, and was said to be haunted by spirits, cursed for centuries due to some past wrongdoing. Shortly after the Seck Resurgence in 1144, a traveler came across the ruins of the village, and read an epitaph scrawled upon the obelisk rising from the town center. They were engulfed in a shimmering haze, and were transported backwards in time, to when the three curses first befell Yesterhaven. Ice Yesterhaven was engulfed in a blizzard for the first time in generations, and the town guard were forced to climb Mount Wintershroud to try and talk some sense into the Snow Queen. Days passed with no sign of the guards, but then the traveler appeared in the town center. They ventured into the Wintershroud Foothills, and freed Guard Captain Kellan from the Snow Queen's Krug servants, before continuing their ascent, to the Crystal Towers that sat atop the mountain. Along the way, the traveler encountered fire-wielding Krug battling with the icy servants of the Snow Queen, and when at last they confronted the Queen herself, she accused the people of Yesterhaven of having sided with the Fire King, allowing his army to invade her realm. Having lost most of her power, the Snow Queen told the traveler that she could no longer help them when they saw the Fire King for what he truly was. Death Upon their return to Yesterhaven, the traveler found the village infested with giant spiders and an army of the undead. As they learned, the Undertaker had stolen an artifact, known as the Chalice of Mourning, from within the Valley of the Dead, and given it to the Fire King in exchange for a way to win the heart of the young Maid Gwendolyn. Little did the Undertaker realize that the Fire King would shatter the wards around the Valley, releasing the dead themselves upon Yesterhaven. Gwendolyn herself was dragged away in the night, and the traveler was forced to give chase. Rescuing the young lady, the traveler learned that the undead sought the Chalice, and blamed all the townsfolk for what had transpired. Delving into the old imperial catacombs, the traveler faced off against the Lich Lord, the undead Archmage himself, and, after destroying his body, was commanded to retrieve the Chalice from the Fire King's clutches, and return it to it's rightful place. Fire Returning once again to Yesterhaven, the traveler found it changed. A horrible drought had swept over the village, with only the Snow Queen's ability to create short rain showers keeping the townsfolk hydrated. The local scribe, Redric, told them that the Fire King had used the Chalice in order to imbue his army of Krug with the ability to pass into the Valley of the Dead, which was warded against any living thing that did not drink from water prepared within the artifact. This was how they had been able to invade the Snow Queen's domain. Traveling into the volcanic caverns below Mount Underforge, the traveler at last came to the Citadel of Ash, where they defeated the Fire King. They learned that he sought to end his eternal stewardship of the Valley, and at last embrace death, but, in so doing, had broken his ancient oath to protect the descendants of the Archmage. He relented, and an undead servant named Dante returned the Chalice of Mourning to the tombs. The End When the Undertaker's life at last came to an end, there were none left to act as Warden of the Valley of the Dead. Yesterhaven's people left, or lived out the rest of their days in the abandoned hamlet. When the traveler was returned to their time period, they found the ruins of Yesterhaven covered in flowers, and the epitaph upon the central obelisk has become a thank you. As they read it's words, treasure chests appeared from the flower beds, a long awaited reward finally claimed.Category:Locations